Lance Cadle-Davidson

Lance Cadle-Davidson serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Cornell University's School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, and is a Research Plant Pathologist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Grape Genetics Research Unit (GGRU) in Geneva, NY. His work bridges academic research and federal agricultural science through Cornell AgriTech.

His research focuses on sustainable management of grapevine fungal and oomycete diseases, leveraging genomic tools to understand host-pathogen co-evolution and develop disease-resistant grape varieties. Key initiatives include co-leading the VitisGen project, which analyzes genomic data to enhance traditional breeding approaches for eco-friendly disease resistance. His work addresses critical challenges in viticulture through cutting-edge genomics and collaborative breeding programs.

At the USDA GGRU, Cadle-Davidson's laboratory analyzes billions of data points to determine genetic factors influencing pathogen resistance in grapevines. His research directly supports the wine and grape industry, recently contributing to the discovery of a new downy mildew resistance gene (2023) and applying genome search engines to 7,000 grapevines through the VitisGen2 collaboration (2021).

• Education: B.S. in Biochemistry (Summa cum Laude) from Kansas State University (1997); Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Cornell University (2003)
• Professional Affiliation: Grapevine Pathologist at USDA ARS since 2003